There is a single cell operation supporting robot already known as Patent Literature 1, in which a table that moves on a horizontal plane and two manipulators that are capable of moving in three-axial directions are mounted so as to carry out operations such as holing, moving, and injection targeted on individual cells within a cell incubator placed on the table.
However, this single cell operation supporting robot is basically designed for the case of using a micro-well that individually stores the single cell. Therefore, it has sometimes been difficult to teach and store the positions of each cell properly to the robot, when the single cells are dispersedly disposed in a disordered manner within the cell incubator.
Further, even if a micro-well is used, the position and posture of the cell incubator with respect to the table are changed when the incubator itself is detached and then placed on the table again. Thus, it becomes difficult to carry out a proper processing operation if the position data of each cell provided in the past is used as it is.
In order to overcome this kind of issues, the Applicants of the present invention have already proposed Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication 2004-146203. Disclosed therein are a cell position teaching method and a single cell operation supporting robot, which: obtain a transformation matrix for transforming a table coordinate system into a dish coordinate system through utilizing a first and a second feature points formed on a dish serving as a cell incubator, and utilizing a function of the single cell operation supporting robot itself provided for detecting the current positions at each axis on a table; obtain positions of each cell on the dish coordinate system by multiplying the transformation matrix to the position of each cell detected on the basis of the table coordinate system; and the positions of those cells are registered to a file by being associated with identification names for specifying the dish. Also disclosed therein is a dish for a single cell operation supporting robot, which comprises the first and second feature points to be used in the single cell operation supporting robot described above.
However, for the dish for a single cell operation supporting robot proposed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication 2004-146203, it is assumed basically that the first and second feature points are formed integrally with the dish that serves as the cell incubator. Thus, it is necessary to create a new die for molding the dish that comprises protrusions or concaves for forming the first and second feature points on the bottom face of the dish. Therefore, there still remains such an issue that the cost for manufacturing the dishes becomes high.
Further, in order to detect the positions of the first and second feature points on the table coordinate system, it is necessary to locate those feature points at specific positions in the view field of a microscope. However, the line width of the long segment and the short segments which form the first and second feature points is as thin as 5 μm or less. Therefore, it is sometimes difficult to locate those feature points within the view field of the microscope or in the vicinity thereof at the preparatory stage. In such a case, it is required to find the feature points by searching the bottom face of the dish thoroughly with the microscope for teaching the posture of the dish. As a result, there may cause such an inconveniences that the time for the preparatory work is extended.
Patent Literature 1: WO publication 2004/015055 A1 Pamphlet (FIG. 1, FIG. 3)